Expert: Jamie Yocono - 5/17/2005

Question
Hi,

We recently bought a Ryobi drill and find it does not assemble well, can you suggest a better drill?  Wehave found that some of the newer mode drills don't work well can yousuggest one that is eas to us and works well?

Thank you in advance for your response and may God bless you!

Your friend,
Julie S.

Answer
Hi Julie,

Sorry to hear the drill you purchased isn't living up to your expectations.  Maybe you can return it to wherever you purchased it and they will give you credit towards a different product.

While this area isn't my specialty (there are many tool gurus out there who could probably answer you more thoroughly), I will lend an opinion. In my woodshop right now, I use two different types of drills- both cordless and electric. Sometimes a cordless drill just doesn't have the power to do the things an electric drill does- so I have found the need to own both. My electric drill is a big one- a 1/2"chuck Makita that's probably 15-20 years old. It's a workhorse and has never let me down.

As far as cordless drills go- I have many and mostly use my DeWalt cordless. It's a 14.4 volt drill, which (for me) has enough power to do what I need it to do. The 18 volt cordless drills available are too heavy for my taste, so I stick with the slightly less powerful one.

As far as brands go- I have probably owned a drill from just about every drill manufacturer out there. I think if I were going to buy a cordless drill today, I would look at DeWalt and Bosch, as both of those are sturdy and have good ergonomics.  If I were looking for an electric drill today, I would consider Milwaukee or Porter Cable. I used to teach woodworking classes for a local college, and had the opportunity to use a variety of drills, so my recommendations are from actual use of these drills.

About six months ago, Fine Homebuilding Magazine (issue #174) did a tool test on 14.4 volt cordless drills. I just looked at their article to see which ones they recommended. For drills less than $100, they recommended the Ryobi SA-14402 and for drills more than $100, they liked the Milwaukee 0616-20. I'm sure you could do a Google search on "drill comparisons" and find more information out there. I think Wood Magazine did a drill comparison too, so I would look for that one on Google.

Last thing- I think there are a few things to consider when buying a drill, so you think about these:

Chuck capacity - I need a 1/2" chuck capacity, but you could probably get by with 3/8" capacity.

Reversibility  - you HAVE to get a reversible drill. I am not sure they even make ones that don't reverse any more but I just wanted to mention it.

Grip  -  Pick up the drill you're considering and make sure it's a good fit for your hand.  I use my drill a lot, and would hate to have a drill that was too "big" for me.

Good luck, I hope this helps. Feel free to write back with any other questions you might have after reading this.

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
www.wooditis.com
Las Vegas, NV